Imperial and Selkirk Announce Combination

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 27, 2009) - Imperial Metals Corporation (TSX:III) and Selkirk Metals Corp. (TSX:SLK) are pleased to announce they have agreed to combine by way of a Plan of Arrangement, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

The business combination will pair Imperial's proven development, operating and financial capability with Selkirk's portfolio of development stage and advanced exploration projects. The corporation will be virtually debt free and utilize cash flow from existing operations to further explore and develop an expanded mineral asset base.

Under the terms of the agreement, each shareholder of Selkirk will receive, at the option of the holder, either $0.12 cash for each Selkirk share held or one common share of Imperial for every 30 shares of Selkirk held, provided however that Imperial shall not be required to issue more than 2.2 million shares pursuant to the exercise of the share options. In the event that Selkirk shareholders elections would result in the issuance of more than 2.2 million Imperial shares, the Imperial shares will be allocated on a pro-rata basis, with the balance being paid in cash.

Imperial is a mine development and operating company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Company's key properties are the Mount Polley open pit copper/gold producing mine in central British Columbia, the Huckleberry open pit copper/molybdenum producing mine in northern British Columbia, the development stage Red Chris property in northwest British Columbia, and the development stage Sterling gold property in southwest Nevada.